The pills your doctor prescribes for you may look like small, harmless tablets, but prescription medicines – if not used properly – can be very dangerous, even lethal. Mixing them with other prescription (or even over-the-counter) medications without first consulting your doctor can cause serious health problems. Drugs that are not taken for the purpose for which they were prescribed, or that are shared with others, are a significant cause of serious health complications in the United States, including addiction, dangerous withdrawal symptoms, seizures, mental health problems, cardiovascular symptoms, and even death. In 2010 alone, nearly 10 million people misused or abused pain relievers, tranquilizers, sedatives, and stimulants, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Even if you don’t misuse your prescription medicine on purpose, you may be causing harm to yourself or others without realizing it. For this reason, it is important to learn as much as you can from your healthcare provider or pharmacist about the medications you are given, and to do your part to keep yourself and others safe. Here are some ways to take responsibility and help your doctor ensure that your prescription medications are doing the right job for you!
- Take your prescription pain medication only as prescribed. This means not taking any more or less medication than prescribed without reviewing this change with your provider. Changing the dose of a medication can be very dangerous without knowing how your body will react.
- Never mix prescription medications with other substances without first discussing it with your health care provider. This includes over-the-counter remedies, alcohol, and illegal substances like street drugs.
- Never share your prescription medications with anyone else. A drug that is appropriate for you may be dangerous to someone else, either because of a conflict with another medicine or because of their specific health condition or problem.
- Make sure that no one else has access to your prescription medication. Be aware of those around you. Don’t leave your medication on the kitchen counter; it should be kept out of sight and in a secure place you can access if you have concerns for its safe use. This is especially important if you have young children or teenagers in your home. (Among high school seniors, prescription medications represent 5 of the 10 most commonly-abused drugs, and only marijuana is more frequently abused than prescription pain medications and Adderall.)
- Ask your pharmacist or health care provider to give you clear instructions about how to use your prescriptions, and make sure you understand them.
- Contact your provider with any questions or concerns you might have after you get home.
- Carefully pay attention to the effects your medication has on the symptoms for which it is prescribed. Has it helped? Do you have troubling side effects? Be sure to let your provider know.
- Communicate openly with your health care provider about what you are taking. Bring your medications with you to appointments if you have difficulty remembering them, and report exactly what you take, not what you were advised to take. No one on your health care team can help you take better care of yourself if you’re not honest about medication use (or lack thereof.)
By accepting a prescription for medicine, you are taking on an important partnership with your provider. Your provider agrees to inform you of the proper use and potential side effects, and you agree to use the medicine as directed and to inform your provider of any questions or problems. You also agree to keep your medication safe from others and not to share it, and to take an active role in reporting any problems with it. This commitment to communication, trust, and honesty is an important aspect of the partnership for your health. If problems arise, you and your provider can work together to find a solution.